Collection Information: Short'nin' Bread was collected on May
19th, 2014 in Dennis, Massachusetts. It belongs to a sub-genre of
nursery rhymes called wake up songs.
Informant Data: Jane Pine Wood, 52, was born and grew up in Midland, Texas. She has four younger brothers, along with her two parents. She is Irish, German, and Cajun. She was heavily influenced by Southern culture growing up, and although currently lives in Massachusetts, holds on to those roots. She is married and has two sons, and currently lives in Massachusetts.
Text:
"Three little children, lyin' in bed
Two were sick and the other 'most dead
Sent for the doctor and the doctor said,
"Give those children some short'nin' bread."
Mama's little baby loves short'nin', short'nin',
Mama's little baby loves short'nin' bread,
Mama's little baby loves short'nin', short'nin',
Mama's little baby loves short'nin' bread.
Put on the skillet, slip on the lid,
Mama's gonna make a little short'nin' bread,
That ain't all she's gonna do,
Mama's gonna make a little coffee, too.
Context: This song was popular in the South, and originated on
plantations amongst slaves as a recipe for “short’nin’ bread,” which was
a quick treat that was made uniquely with brown sugar instead of
bleached sugar, giving it a different taste. The gist is that there is a
sick child who can be cured by making this treat. It was sung to Jane
by her parents when she was growing up to get them all out of bed
whenever her mom was going to make these treats. She in turn sang it to
her children when they were very young. It was a common knowledge song,
and variations exist after doing research.
Interpretation and Meaning: The context data explains most of this wake-up song. It is a very southern song and was often sung by slaves in the kitchen to pass the time whilst cooking all meals, including breakfast, which is how it came to be a wake-up song. Since then it has been passed down to southerners in general and is widely known in Jane’s generation.
Collector’s Information: Ben Wood, Dartmouth College ’16, Russian 13, Professor Mikhail Gronas, Spring 2014
